


boundaries don’t matter when you’ve crossed over

by Fangirlw_oChill



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Angst and Feels, Character Death, F/M, Family Fluff, Feels, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Implied Relationships, Light Angst, Sad, Sibling Bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:53:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26756089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fangirlw_oChill/pseuds/Fangirlw_oChill
Summary: Alternative ending to 1x09. The boys cross over after they perform at the Orpheum with Julie. What if Luke left Julie a note in her dream box to find after they crossed over?
Relationships: Carlos Molina & Julie Molina, Julie Molina/Luke Patterson
Comments: 10
Kudos: 206





	boundaries don’t matter when you’ve crossed over

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! It’s been *ahem* years since I’ve written and published fanfic, so please excuse the rust being dusted off. I still cannot believe I actually wrote a thing. I guess that’s the magic of Julie and the Phantoms, (tell your friends!). I’m so thankful for this wholesome show that has been an amazingly _bright_ part of a rough year. This was inspired by EvilStory!Cor, a.k.a. the queen of angst and my number one sunsetsquadghoul.
> 
> Disclaimer: I obviously don’t own anything you recognize which in this case includes brief show dialogue and some song lyrics.

xx

Julie’s heart had not stopped racing. The performance at the Orpheum was over an hour ago and she was riding home with her dad and her brother. Yet somehow, Julie felt as out of breath as she had when she and her phantoms had taken their final bow. The adrenaline rush had been unreal, and Julie didn’t know if she would ever feel this wonderful, this _alive_ ever again. That performance had been a dream come true for her and even more so for Luke, Reggie, and Alex. She felt incredibly lucky to have been part of their life – well, afterlife. At that thought, her heart sank. Tonight was the end though, wasn’t it? Julie closed her eyes and was transported back to the stage. 

_**She looked over at her boys and grinned widely. Her face was starting to hurt as she hadn’t stopped smiling from the moment they poofed on stage to perform with her. She had no idea what had happened between them and Caleb, but at that moment, she didn’t care. She just couldn’t believe they were standing right there! With her! On stage at the Orpheum! When Alex suddenly appeared, she did a double take. When Reggie showed up next, she couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her face (not dissimilar to the one she was still sporting). And Luke…her heart stopped when he flickered in and out, but it soared to the heavens when he finally stayed with them. She was so excited that she couldn’t help but hop across the stage to sing with him. She was always drawn to him anyway, so why hide it? Everything about him captured her: his stage presence, his voice, his personality, his stupid smile that made her heart flutter every time he looked at her. Cute air, indeed.** _

_**After their song, they stood on the edge of the stage and basked in the riotous applause. The cheers were deafening. She could hear her dad, her tia, and Carlos yelling for her. She even saw Carrie clapping. What a night. She couldn’t touch the boys, but she imagined that their hands were shaking as badly as hers while the crowds went wild. How could anything ever top this? She looked over at Luke and their eyes met. She smiled at him through unshed tears, knowing she'd probably never see him again. Behind the exhilaration in his eyes, she could see the sadness and resignation that was likely mirrored in her own gaze. She would miss Luke more than she could fathom. She tore her eyes away from him, lest her heart break any more, and nodded at Alex before she looked at Reggie on her other side and gave him a small smile. Together they faced the audience, bowed together, and in the next moment, the boys, her phantoms, disappeared.** _

Though she wanted to live in that memory forever, Julie’s reverie was broken by her dad and little brother grabbing her shoulders and chanting “Stand Tall” as they marched back to the house. She laughed and joined in until they reached the door. Julie couldn’t bring herself to go in the house just yet. She needed to visit the studio. She had to know if they really were gone, and even if they were, she still wanted to thank them. 

Carlos’ knowing wink paired with the ‘don’t _ghost_ me’ comment threw Julie for a loop and she knew that at some point she would have some explaining to do. Her brother was a smart kid, so she wouldn’t be surprised if he had figured out the truth about the band. What _would_ surprise her would be if he had known the truth and hadn’t exposed them. That…she would deal with later.

Julie pulled the studio’s double doors open and was greeted by a dark and empty room. No lights, no familiar laughter, no a song from a spontaneous jam session. It really was over. Julie choked back a sob as she made her way to the couch – to _Luke’s_ couch – and collapsed onto it.  
She sighed and spoke.

“I know I already said this, but, thank you, guys.”

Only silence met her. Truthfully, Julie hadn’t really expected them to answer her, but it wasn’t until now, until she was positive they had crossed over, that she could admit that a small part of her had held out hope that they would be waiting for her to come home to them. After all, their appearance in her life defied explanation, so who was to say they couldn’t still be with her? However, sitting in stillness forced Julie to face the truth. They weren’t there. They had crossed over, leaving her alone forever.

Swiping furiously at her tear-stained face – _when had she started crying?_ – Julie stood and made her way back to the house. She took one last look into the darkened studio before closing the doors and heading up to her room to get ready for bed. It would take all of her strength tomorrow to go back in there. Before meeting Alex, Reggie, and Luke, it had been painful enough to go in there with memories of her mom. It was so painful she hadn’t set foot in the studio for a whole year! Now, she imagined it would be even harder to go into the studio when it still echoed with the sounds of her ghosts. The new memories of laughing and making music with the boys that would start to live rent-free in that space on top of the constant low hum of grief and longing for her mom. It was too much. Julie didn’t know how she could ever go back to a place that had recently brought her so much delight without it being tainted by an unbearable sadness. It wouldn’t be the same without them. Without Luke writing songs with her on the couch. Without Reggie and Alex cracking jokes. They had been her band…her friends…her family.

Regardless, she would do it. Julie decided the first thing she would do tomorrow would be to go play in the studio. For them. She knew in her bones that they would not want her to give up music. Not again. They were the ones who brought joy and music back into her life and they helped her feel connected to her mom, so for them, she’d continue. Music had been so important to all of them and she couldn’t lose that again on top of losing everything else. 

Firm in her resolve to wake up bright and early tomorrow to play her piano, Julie finished her nighttime routine. As she was about to climb into bed, she heard a knock on her door. 

“Are you still awake? Can I come in?” Carlos asked.

“Yeah, sure,” she answered. 

Tentatively Carlos walked in with the Sunset Curve CD in his hand. _He knows._ Julie thought. The sight of the CD brought her to tears and she sat down on her bed, starting to cry again. _Would she ever stop crying?_ Carlos sat next to her and put his arm around her.

“They’re gone, aren’t they?”

Julie nodded, unable to form words through the lump in her throat.

“I’ll bet they’re with mom now though; probably having a great time and rocking out.” Carlos said softly, trying his best to comfort his big sister. She nodded again and smiled down at him through her tears. They sat there in silence for several minutes before Julie was able to compose herself. She took a deep breath and it all came out. She told Carlos her favorite stories about the boys. 

How Reggie adored their dad and would hang out with him all the time. How he was the one who always used Carlos’ computer to play rock music and how he had been the one to play ghost pranks and him and their tia. How Alex was so supportive and funny and how he would sometimes go off by himself when he was overwhelmed. How he seemed to be the one who kept the other boys grounded. How Luke was the one who introduced her to rock, and how instrumental he was to her love of music well before she had even met him. How she and Luke made each other better, and how they were writing songs as if they were running out of time – before they even knew he was, actually running out of time. 

Eventually, Julie’s physical and emotional exhaustion caught up to her and she fell asleep mid-story. Carlos covered her with her blankets and left the room, happy to have connected with his big sister in a way they hadn’t since before their mom died. He gently closed the door behind him and on his way to his room, looked up and whispered a simple thank you to the boys for bringing his sister back.

A little later, just after 2 a.m., Julie awoke with a start, fresh lyrics in her head:

_I can live with your ghost,  
If you say that’s the most that I’ll get  
Distance can’t take  
What is hidden here safe in my chest _

She had no melody in mind, but she wanted to capture the words before they disappeared. She scribbled them down hastily and opened her dream box to put them with her other notes, but froze at the sight of an unfamiliar page written in very familiar and borderline illegible handwriting. _Luke._ Julie’s heart stopped. She was certain that note wasn’t there yesterday. Since forming Julie and the Phantoms, she’d been constantly in and out of her dream box to write new songs with Luke. This note couldn’t have been there for long, or she would have seen it. Luke must have left it before the Orpheum performance. Julie took a deep breath and started reading.

_**I know what you’re thinking: Boundaries. Yeah, yeah, I know. Boundaries don’t matter when you’ve crossed over though, so I’m not sorry for invading yours one last time. I told you that I didn’t have many regrets in life except for running out on my mom. Well, the only regret I would have in my afterlife would be leaving you with anything unsaid. Even if we don’t cross over tonight, we will never join Caleb’s club. Even if it means we vanish. No music is worth making, Julie, if I’m not making it with you. No regrets. You made me a better musician and it’s because of you we are finally going to play at the Orpheum. I don’t know what happens after tonight, but I will never forget you. You’re a star, Julie. Stand tall.**_

She flipped the page over to find some scribbled chords and some lyrics for a new song.

_I'll wait for the day  
When we finally say now or never  
'Til then I'll be here wanting more  
As I settle for atmosphere _

__

Julie laughed through tears because of course the lyrics and the music he composed fit perfectly with what she had just written. Even on the other side, Luke was still writing songs with her. She hugged the page to her chest and cried silently, her heart simultaneously so full and so, so broken. Carefully, she copied his music to a fresh page and combined it with her newest lyrics. At the top, she wrote _'Send Me the Moon'_ before putting it in her dream box and shutting the lid.

__

#### ~~~A FEW MONTHS LATER~~~

__

Julie walked over to the keyboard and smiled at the audience at the open mic night in a small Los Angeles venue. She nervously adjusted the orange beanie that lay carefully on her curls.

__

“Hey, everyone thanks for coming. I’m Julie Molina from Julie and the Phantoms. I’d like to sing a new song for you tonight called: _‘Send Me the Moon.’_ This one’s for Luke, wherever you are.”

__

xx

__


End file.
